6 Nations Tournament: the Blues will have to operate without Alldritt against Italy

Grégory Alldritt est sorti sur blessure à la 50e minute face à l'Ecosse. MAXPPP – Jane Barlow

Hit in the left thigh during the last meeting against Scotland, captain Grégory Alldritt will not be restored for the reception of Italy, on February 25, for the 3rd day of the Six Nations Tournament 2024. 

It's a hard blow for the XV of France who will have to get by without their captain, after his injury sustained during the victory against France. Scotland (20-16). 

The La Rochelle international third row had to leave the pitch at Murrayfield on a stretcher in the 50th minute of a very close match, in which the Blues were trailing for a long time before completely reversing the outcome of the match. meeting over the last 15 minutes. 

 A few minutes later, at a press conference, Alldritt was reassuring: "It's going very well, no more fear what harm. It’s a wound that has opened. The muscle is not affected, just the skin which is wide open. A few points and now we have to let it heal."

Questions begin to emerge

Finally, the person concerned (26 years old, 47 caps) will not be returned in time for the match against Italy, on February 25 in Lille, at the end of the 3rd day of the Tournament, indicated to AFP a source close to the player, confirming information from the newspaper L'Equipe.

According to the sports daily, the duration of his unavailability is estimated between fifteen days and three weeks. Alldritt should therefore be back for the last two matches of the 2024 Tournament, against Wales on March 10, and against England on March 16.

🚀⚡️ L’essai de Louis Bielle-Biarrey qui fait exulter les supporters français à Murrayfield ! 🔥#ECOFRA #XVdeFrance #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/9w9KpTNf8Q

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 11, 2024

The package of the tireless Rochelais is a headache for coach Fabien Galthié and his staff: who will be captain in Lille against the Squadra Azzurra ? Who will wear the flocked jersey from N.8 ?

Ollivon captain, Boudehent instead ?

Alldritt had inherited the captaincy in the absence of Antoine Dupont, who skipped the Tournament to concentrate on rugby sevens and the Paris Olympic Games.< /p>

Toulonnais Charles Ollivon (30 years old, 41 selections), captain of the Blues at the start of Fabien Galthié's mandate, seems ideally suited to take over this role.

Unless the staff turns to the center and captain of Racing 92 Gaël Fickou (29 years old, 87 sel.), back in form against the XV du Chardon and the most experienced player of the team ;#39;France team.

In the third row, Alldritt had been replaced at Murrayfield by his partner Paul Boudehent (24 years old, 8 selections). The young Rochelais could take his place in the third row with Ollivon and François Cros (29 years old, 29 selections).

Toulouse's Alexandre Roumat (26 years old, 1 selection) was also on the bench in front of Scotland but he entered the second row, in place of Racingman Cameron Woki.

Withdraw to better return

La Rochelle's third row Grégory Alldritt resumed at the end of December after a few months off at the end of the 2023 World Cup, in agreement with his club, to regenerate.

A cut that did him "a lot of good", as he explained to AFP: & quot;Going back to the South (he's from the Gers), going to my brother's wedding in Scotland… These are things that are important to me and that I don't necessarily manage to do in normal times ", then recalled the Rochelais, double reigning European champion.

😍🇫🇷 « 𝑸𝒖𝒊 𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔 𝒏’𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄̧𝒂𝒊𝒔 ! »
Quelle ambiance à Murrayfield ! 🔥 MERCI !#ECOFRA #XVdeFrance #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/XJv3BffPaQ

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 10, 2024

"If I had to do it again, I would do it. It’s work on the future, to come back even stronger afterwards. The objective was to regenerate better in order to come back better.

Knocked out from the start by Ireland (36-17), the XV of France then made up for it by snatching victory in front of Scotland (20-16), thanks to a try refused at the last minute to the XV du Chardon.